


Attention

by amoreflos



Category: Andi Mack (TV)
Genre: Comfort, Crying, Hopeful Ending, M/M, TJ needs a hug, amber is mean in this, and pretty selfish, don’t worry he gets hugs!, sad boi tj, tjs parents are mean
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-10
Updated: 2019-11-10
Packaged: 2021-01-26 14:10:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21375400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amoreflos/pseuds/amoreflos
Summary: When Cyrus stays at Amber and Tj’s house and hears crying coming from the next bedroom over, Cyrus sees what’s going on.
Relationships: Amber/Cyrus Goodman, Amber/T. J. Kippen, Cyrus Goodman & T. J. Kippen, Cyrus Goodman/T. J. Kippen, T. J. Kippen & T. J. Kippen's Father, T. J. Kippen & T. J. Kippen's Mother
Comments: 3
Kudos: 73





	Attention

Third Person POV 

Attention, he would never get it.

Maybe it was because his sister was better. Or the fact that she got perfect grades, was captain of the cheerleading squad, and looked perfect.

Maybe it was because he never got good grades, they never wanted a boy, and he always stayed out of the house to avoid his parents disgusting comments.

Or maybe it was because he was gay.

Maybe it was because they found him kissing a guy in his room, and made him break up with him in-front of his parents.

Of course, he was over it. He thought he liked him, but he didn't. He only thought he was attractive.

So when he's standing in the hallway, in his jersey coming from a basketball game, he was upset. His hair was coated with sweat, his jersey sticking to his sweat soaked body, his parents just ignored him.

Every week, he would invite his parents to one game, hoping that they would come to it, he hoped that maybe his parents would come to one of his games. He hoped that one day, his parents wouldn't ignore him, and he would have something to look forward to that his parents would be involved with.

But that never happened.

After every game, event, tournament or even presentation, he would stand in front of the dining room table, looking as his parents pretended to not to notice him, waiting for the fake reason for why his parents couldn't make it, and had to go to one of Ambers events.

"You didn't come to my game." He said, barely making a straight face so it didn't turn to frown. His parents looked up from what they were doing — his Mom reading, and his Dad typing a paper up for the newspaper.

"Amber had a cheerleading practice." His Mom said, taking a sip from the glass of water the rested on the round table. 

"Why don't you make it to anything I do, I feel like it's all about Amber." He says, taking one steady step closer to his parents. 

This made his Dad look up from his screen, watching as Tj looked heartbroken. He always got use to the pain, he always toughed it out. He had to stay strong. He had to string in front of his parents.

"Thelonious com—" he got interrupted by Tj, bringing his hand up to stop his from saying his whole name before cutting him off.

"Don't call me that." He says sternly, anger taking over his face. He stepped back, making his way towards the hallway. Before walking away and leavening his parents in an awkward silence, he turns around saying...

"I don't wanna hear it." He walks down the hall of their one floor apartment, making his way to his room before subtlety closing the door behind him.

When he finally walks out of his room to get water, he hears Cyrus and Amber from Ambers room, gossiping and talking about whatever came to mind. 

He needed to let it all go. To cry and choke in sobs until he was out of breath. To curl up in a ball of blankets and hide. To try and run away from the pain.

Cyrus was Ambers best friend. In fact, he slept over at her house every weekend. But before Cyrus and Tj could talk, Amber would take Cyrus away to her room.

Amber didn't hate him though, but did everything in her power to stay loved. She did everything to hide the fact she was a lesbian, and impressed them as a distraction.

Nobody knew, though.

Nobody knew.

Cyrus POV 

"I mean, come on Tj! Not everything is about you! Um, you didn't go to my game! Oh no! Where's my hair gel!" She said, trying to have an impression of his voice.

It always sounds like she's being dramatic. I've overheard one of their conversations before, and they always put her first.

I guess she doesn't realize.

We're in her room, Ariana Grande playing from her record player. Her pink pastel lamp is on, casting a warm light to fade into the room. 

Her room was big. She had a queen sized bed that was placed in the middle of her room, leaned up against a wall. She had fairy light strung above it, and paintings hung all around her room.

At this point, her parents are asleep, Tj was hanging out in his room, and Amber is ranting about Jonah or Tj.This is what happens at every sleepover we have, and it's a daily routine. I come in, we play some games, and then it's ranting about you're brother.

Tj isn't even that bad, and every time I see him, he looks miserable. Every time I try to talk to him, I get pushed away immediately. All I want to be is his friend, it looks like he needs one.

"Hey, I'm gonna go get some water." I say, standing up from the bed, exiting her room. I close the door behind me, the light that was coming from her room blocked by her white door.

I walk down the hallway, but it isn't silent. I can hear Wallows playing from Tj's room, but that isn't the only thing I hear.

I hear crying.

I walk closer to his room, the music and sobs getting louder. For a moment, I just stand there. I weigh out all the pros and cons of going into his room and comforting him. And that's what I do. I softly knock on the door, hoping he'll open it.

I want to know. I want to know what's wrong.

"I don't want to hear you're apologies Mom!" I hear him yell. I then hear his shaky breaths and sobs again. I open the door slowly, seeing his body shake under blankets, his head is his hands.

"Hey." I say softly, trying not to trigger him. My heart speeds up, afraid that I'm going to hurt him. 

But when our eyes met, they softened. He stoped sobbing for a second, tears still spilling from his eyes. We just stare.

After what feels like forever, I close the door behind me, taking slow and steady steps towards him. I hear him sniffle a few times, before another tear falls down his red cheeks.

"Are you okay?" It comes out almost as a whisper. Soft and gentle, barely hearable, but heard. He blinks a few times, before sadly smiling.

"Yeah. I'm fine." He says before harshly wiping his cheeks and eyes, leaving them red. He wasn't fine if he was crying.

"You're crying." I state, before sitting across from him on his bed. His fake smile drops, a stray tear escaping his eyes.

"You're right. I'm not okay." He says before crying again. My mind is racing, coming up with things to say to cheer him up. 

He cries again, and it breaks my heart. It's a feeling I've never felt before though. So all I can do is hug him from the side, and let him cry into me, hoping it will cheer him up.

Hoping that I could make a difference.

We just sit there. Him crying into my shoulder as I whisper encouraging words into his ear, trying to calm him down. 

But it didn't hit me that something was wrong until I really thought about it. Amber always said that he always got attention, and everything was about him. . . but was it?

I remember that day. The day where Tj was arguing about a game with his parents, and then he said it.

flashback

I watch from afar like everything is in slow motion. I wanted to get a snack, but then I see it. I see that Tj and his parents were arguing.

"Why do you never make time for me? I get it. I'm not as impressive as Amber, but I'm still you're son!" Tj yells, tears building up in his eyes.

"Tj, we try. But work is hard! For both of us. Ambers stuff happens to be when we're not bus—" before his mom can say anything else, he cut off.

" Oh so canceling my stuff to see her things everyday is work?" He screams, his arms waving all over the place as he states his point.

"Son, that's not what it's like at all." His father says, taking a sip of his coffee. 

"Why do you forget about me? Am I not good enough? Why am I not good enough for you! Is it because I have dyscalculia? I'm not a perfect Barbie? Is it because I'm gay?" He yells, tears running down his cheeks.

And the room went silent. 

flashback over

When he finally stoped crying, his head was on my shoulder, my arm wrapped around his shoulders pushing him into my side.

"Do you mind telling me what you were crying about?" I ask, carful not to go too far. He lifts his head up to look at me.

He looks shattered. Broken. It wasn't fair.

"My parents. Amber. Nothing feels. . . right." He says, sniffling.

"Well, we don't have to talk about it, but if you do, tell me okay?" I ask, rubbing comforting circles on his shoulder.

"Yeah." He whispers. I stayed there for an hour, enjoying each other's company until I decided to go back to Ambers room. I find her asleep in her bed, and I silently climb into my sleeping bag.

We need to talk.

Tomorrow. I think. Tomorrow we'll talk.


End file.
